"The butterflies start going when the national anthem stops playing."
Helio Castroneves

"You have to have a good blend of aggression and patience."
Danica Patrick

"I'm too focused sometimes."
Marco Andretti

"It's always easier to be the guy out front."
Sam Hornish Jr.

"I don't just want to do it. I want to be special at what I do."
Dan Wheldon

The early 2007 IndyCar season motored along with a picturesque stop at downtown coastal St. Petersburg for a challenging road course event that pleased promoters, fans and at least one driver - repeat winner of the Grand Prix of St Petersburg, Helio Castroneves. The 'Spider-Man' climbed the catch fence to celebrate his victory after a race that had Scott Dixon hot on his exhaust and come-back sensation Tony Kanaan not far behind.

Winning and competing in motorsports and especially in open-wheel racing takes a rare blend of bravery, skill and mental acuity. Those at the top of their profession lead an active life that includes frequent practice, sponsorship duties and media focus - then they even get to race.

This report features a selection of questions posed to five IndyCar drivers with their variety of responses. They may not know everything about what drives them to race, but sometimes the right questions reveal subtle causes and explanations. This sport is all about fun and danger and no where is that more apparent than in the thoughts of those who accept risk as their routine.

Competitive images augment their words.

Can you identify the common hurdles you must overcome routinely as a driver at the IndyCar level that fans might not quite understand?
"Normally when you get to the morning you got a meeting with the team, the plan to know what you are going to do before first practice. After that you have to sit down with your team to know what you got done and plan again for the next session. Plus, in the mean time, you have PR people and groups trying to talk to everyone from the local newspaper, from the national. At least I always ask for 30 minutes early to make sure I have time for me to get focused, otherwise I wouldn't be able to do my job.

"And then you go to race pretty much the same way. You have driver's introduction. You have driver's meeting as well to make sure any questions that you have so you can sort it out before the race. The butterflies start going when the national anthem stops playing. That for sure is something that is really difficult. But that is the adviser that the game started and that's how you go.

"So after the race hopefully you had a good day and go to the podium with your team. Then go to the press room and talk about what was good and what were the difficult times. Then the rest of the night if you don't have a plane you stay one more day and go back the next day. But if you have a plane, just jump in the plane and go home."

What's the best way to handle success?
"You have to enjoy it. First, you need to keep your principles, which means education, humble and make sure you attend to everybody. Once you get there it's hard to keep there. You have to work twice as hard to stay there. Enjoy it. Have fun, because once you have fun, you're going to be O.K."

Danica Patrick

Could you talk a little about momentum, getting momentum and carrying momentum from season to season, race to race?
"I think obviously having good results materializes and positive attitude and a good frame of mind going into the next one. That sure has been proven time and time again. But I think going into this year with a new team I think I have a new outlook as far as just working harder and really working them for information and just expanding my knowledge and my driving ability and constantly having those really great drivers by your side pushing you."

Do champions have common traits and abilities?
Common traits, you obviously have to be good. You have to be talented. You have to be determined. You have to have a good blend of aggression and patience, because you have to finish the race if you want to get that far."

Do you feel you have any of those traits?
"I would sure as heck hope so."

Marco Andretti

Focus is important; did you acquire that or bring it with you?
"It's just me. I'm fortunate with whatever it is, just fortunate to be born with it. That's the easy part for me is the focus. I'm too focused sometimes. My friends are like I don't even acknowledge them. I didn't even know they were there. I'm just so worried about doing the task at hand. I think at the same time when I'm at the track I'm here to win a race, to be quickest in the practice session and qualifying pole. I'm going to do everything in my own power to try to do it."

Is there any special magic or science to getting momentum and keeping it?
"It's confidence. The way to do that is to finish up front and always be in the top five and win races. And keep off the wall because that's a big confidence killer. And so far we've been able to do it."

You seem to pick up a lot things easy, what comes tough for you?
"The competition really. I'm able to drive the car and I'm able to be quick and stuff like that. But so is everybody else. That's the thing. Learning how to learn these guy's characteristics, just trying to beat them and figure them out."

Sam Hornish Jr.

If you were to take a fan for a ride on the track during competition, what would you say to them about the expectation of the experience?
"The wind is trying to pull your helmet off the top of your head. The car is moving all around. The biggest thing I have to tell them is just watch out because the car is going to do about everything different than you think it's going to do. In the next five seconds. Keep on your toes."

What's your mindset chasing the point leader and being the points leader?
"It's probably a little bit easier to be the guy out front because you are the guy who can make or break your own. When you're behind you're constantly trying to push hard to be able to move up and to get some points on the guy ahead of you. So it's always easier to be the guy out front."

Can you identify the common hurdles you must overcome routinely as a driver at the IndyCar level that fans might not quite understand?
"You grow up wanting to be a race car driver. You don't know basically that you are a product spokesman, a reporter. You're doing so many other things outside of just driving the cars. There is more time spent doing other things than there are driving the car. I'm not saying if I would have known that that I wouldn't have become a race car driver, but it would have been a lot easier growing up. I would have taken different classes in high school. Instead of maybe taking some easy classes like gym or whatever I might have taken something like journalism so I would have been a little bit better prepared when I got here and had to do less things when I got here. It's neat to be in this position but there are a lot of things that you don't see as a kid growing up."

Dan Wheldon

Can you compare the challenges of being at this level to getting to this level?
"You know it's just difficult because when you are up against a great group of drivers here. A lot of them even now are a lot more experienced than I am. It takes time to just experience things. When I think of the pace that I drove my first race, everything was happening a million miles an hour. Now when I get in the car everything happens so much slower. You know what to expect. It's different but it's whole learning experience. Trying to pick up from people in your team as much knowledge as possible to benefit you and benefit the team."

Do you have a different mindset when leading in the points as compared to chasing the points leader?
"I prefer being in the points lead cause then you're controlling the situation. It's very difficult when you are chasing because you know you can't control anything. You have to be taking away points form that leader at the time. I tend to do well under pressure. From my personal standpoint I prefer to be in the lead."